I ran away from home

Last week was such a hard week, I decided on Friday to run away from home.  I had friends who were vending at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Festival and this weekend was the monthly meeting of the LACE group in Chicago.  So I decided to go up for the meeting and then head further north for the festival.  There's no better therapy after a really hard week than being among my people - the people of the fiber.

Unfortunately my weekend started at 7am with me at the ATM discovering I didn't have my checkbook with me.  I'd had it out the night before balancing it and hadn't been out of the house since so I knew it was in the house.  I went home to grab it and after tearing the house apart for an hour and a half, decided to go on without it.I never did find it and had to report a lost card to the bank this morning but the most important thing was that it made me late for the LACE meeting.  They were having a program on the crocheted "crocodile" stitch which sounded really interesting, even though I'm not that crazy about crocheting with yarn.  I got to the meeting as people were leaving but the lovely teacher (whose name I didn't even get) stayed and walked me through the beginnings and gave me a copy of the pattern.  See what you think:

It's really easy (once you get the hang of which side of the work you're working on) and there are a lot of possibilities.  There's even a whole Annie's Attic book with projects using this stitch.  I haven't been able to track it down yet but I'll definitely have to find it.

At the festival, I ended up getting the most beautifuly hand-thrown teapot (sorry, I don't have a photo handy) and fiber.  Lots of fiber.  19micron Merino.  Merino and silk.  Merino and kid mohair.  All in white.  I'll probably dye the merino/silk and maybe the merino but the merino/kid mohair is going to stay in the lovely natural white.

I also got the most beautiful Driftwood Spindles spindle.  I don't remember the wood used for the whorl and can't find my card but the shaft, which is also beautifully detailed, is Mesquite wood.  Anyone from Texas would understand why finding that out confirmed my purchase.  It's extremely light and spins like the wind.  I've started on the merino/kid mohair with this spindle and the outcome is going to be breathtaking.  Yet another candidate for the white on white project.

I can testify to the fact that if you get your butt kicked at work, what you need is fiber and people of the fiber.  That makes everything better!

Spindle spinning

In preparation for Saturday's class in Eldridge, IA, I finished a skein of merino/silk/cashmere fiber that I'd started on my last trip to Texas.  Unfortunately I hadn't worked too much on it but this got me motivated.

This is just off the spindle and pre-washed so it's still pretty jumpy.  It's spun quite fine and has 2 plies.  I weighed it before I threw it in the wash and it topped the scales at 3/4 ounce (11g) and spun to 120 yards.  That works out to the equivalent of 2,560 yards to the pound.  Now part of that is the fineness but some of that is because the silk and cashmere are supremely light and soft and cozy.  I can't wait for it to dry.  This is the same fiber as I used to spin the fingering weight that I'm going to use to make fair isle patterned gloves.

I have to say, I wasn't so crazy about the colorway for myself but it will make a great gift for someone.  I'm planning to knit a scarf using a nice, basic, balanced lace pattern like a feather and fan or some such.  I think the movement of that sort of pattern will make the most of the color movement in the yarn.  I'll keep you posted.

You know, I'm seeing more and more of the merino/silk and merino/silk/cashmere blends.  If you've never tried them, I would encourage you to do it.  Although the cashmere is short stapled, when it's mixed with the merino and silk, both of which have a longer staple, the spinning isn't as challenging as you'd think.  And it can't be anything but rewarding to have something so decadent in your hands as the final yarn is.

Spindle Galore

Do you ever get inspiration at 10pm?  If you do, I bet you file it away, go to bed and get a good night's sleep.  Am I right?  Sure I am.  Is that what I do? Of course not. 

Last night I was sitting spinning when an idea hit me.  I've been wanting to try my hand at making some spindles that were a little more special than just the toy wheels and dowels.  By 1:30am, I had my first attempt:

That's silver wire and an agate stone. I like how it came out and it spins fine but it's a little out of proportion.  I do like the idea, though.  I'm going to have another go with a finer dowel and some other stones I've got. 

I went to La Bead Oh this afternoon and found some likely items and came up with these:

I did 3 top whorl and 1 bottom whorl.  I'm not so crazy about bottom whorl spindles but I'm trying to give them a chance.  These are all glass beads and I had very little to do to make them fit.  The middle one standing was a little large for the dowel so I used a silver wire to wrap around and fit up through the bead to make it snug.  Looks so pretty against the clear glass bead.  The 2 standing on the right spin wonderfully and are just the right weight.  The others wobble a little bit but they do spin. 

I'll post more if I get more made.

Spindle Spinning

When I started spinning, I started with an Ashford top-whorl drop spindle.  I learned with it and all the early stuff was done on it.  In fact it was about a year before I moved on to a spinning wheel but I've always kept my love for the drop spindle. 

Recently the spindle has come up again and I decided to spin some dark blue fiber I got on one of my trips.  I'm amazed at how quickly the first skein worked up.  Have a look:

It's not a hugely soft fiber, more along the lines of Border Leicester, but it's a pretty color.  This skein is a little over 200 yards for 2 ounces.  I have to admit that it took me a little while to get the rhythm again for the spindle but it was a lot of fun.  I still have a couple more ounces to go then I'll need to do some white because my thought is to do a pair of fulled blue/white fair isle mittens.  There was a pattern in a recent PieceWork that I would love to try.

In other news, I've hit a milestone with the Amish Center Diamond afghan.  I've finished the 3rd side!  Whoohoo!  Now I'm in the process of picking up the 252 stitches for the final side.  I have to admit, it's a little daunting, knowing how long the 3rd side took.  But it is cozy and I love it so I guess I'll just pull up my thick, felted socks (did I mention it's been cold here?) and get on with it.

I've also got a progress pic of the beaded purse.  Not much to say at this point except that this is it.